replacement tire suggestions

[Bill_Hamilton]

Looking for some advice from the gurus on this site on tires. I have a 30 foot F-53 Ford chassis. Currently I have TOYO "M143" 245 70 R 19.5. These tires came on the coach when I bought it and they have served me well. However it is time to replace. I know that the F-53 chassis is not the smoothest riding chassis but I think it can be better and Im wondering what, if any different tires may help the ride. Im not a fan of Michelins as I have had poor performance out of them so I am planning on avoiding them. Any suggestions and personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[RLS7201]

The tires I use are best................Grin

Richard

[cbr46]

I just ordered a set of Hankook A11/DH07s for my 2002 F53. I was focused on Sumitomo but the winner didn't carry those (or Toyo). Safety might be king but it always comes at a price. Does that mean a mid-priced tire is unsafe? I think not. How about a bottom priced tire?

The selling dealer installed Dynatrac tires in 2013. Probably can't get much cheaper than those. Last week I was coming back from an 850 mile trip (one way) when the almost broke exhaust broke off dumping exhaust gasses onto the rear set. I checked tire temps along the way and the highest the tread got was 150F vs 120F on the other side. While nervous I continued on.

I will say Oklahoma has some of the roughest interstate I've ever driven. I'm sure there's worse, but OK is not ok. W AR wasn't much better. Oh, and US78 heading East out of Memphis too. Worst part of that leg is there's a bypass around the sketchy part (road and neighborhood).

I made it home without incident. The rear tire looked low so I checked pressures - 120 on the outside and 0 on the inside. There's no telling how long I was driving like that but I thank God for getting me home. I still won't buy a Chinese tire but these gave me a renewed respect for some Chinese brands. Which ones are maypops will always be a question.

I looked at some etailers as well as a few local recommended shops. I chose Akins Ford Auto / Truck dealership in Winder GA. They quoted a TOTAL price including local and federal taxes, mount, balance, disposal. The other shops were going to charge extra for everything but the tires. Moral is don't discount the auto dealers. They can have some good deals on tires.

All I have to do now is limp to the dealership. Prayers said and fingers crossed!

BTW, the broken exhaust was from a cone I grazed somewhere in NC (I think). It bent the pipe into the tire. I straighten the pipe and installed a sleeve over it. The sleeve kept loosening and I kept tightening but it was clear it wasn't going to be a permanent solution. It's fixed properly with a new piece now. Funny how some things get prioritized to the top.

I'd like to thank everyone for sharing their tire choice experiences. It really helps!

Best,
- bob

[Bill_Hamilton]

Thanks everyone. I stayed with the Toyo M 136 tires.

[BrianinMichigan]

I have the 19.5's on mine. Before I put the Hankooks on it, I was running Kelly Springfields. Never knew how rough the Kellys were til I put on the Hankooks. The Kelly's were a full 8R and I ran them a 75 psi. They were about 2" taller than the Hankook's. When I put the Hankook's on they are a 70 series tire I found that my speedometer was now at the correct speed and I run them at 90 psi and they still run smoother than the Kelly's ever did. The model that I have is an AH11 tire which i believe they don't make anymore.

[howdy35]

Have run both Sumitomo and Toyo. Liked both. Check price.

[LVJ58]

Been running Bridgestone tires on our coach now for 19 years with zero problems.

Haven't read of any problems with Toyo's though.

Tires are the weakest link between your coach and the pavement so I'm willing to pay the extra $$$ for good quality tires.

Good luck with your choice of tires and safe travels...

[LVJ58]

Been running Bridgestone tires on our coach now for 19 years with zero problems.

Haven't read of any problems with Toyo's though.

Tires are the weakest link between your coach and the pavement so I'm willing to pay the extra $$$ for good quality tires.

Good luck with your choice of tires and safe travels...

[pacificnw]

Another vote for Toyo

[fyrflie]

Sumitomo

[Bill_Hamilton]

Thank You all for your input. Have any of you heard or have experience with Sailun tires? I went to the local tire shop that I normally deal with. Although he is always willing to get whatever brand I want he told me to research and think about them before making a decision. It is worth mentioning that he normally sells Cooper but can get any brand. He tells me that his distributer sells a lot of them and has good reports on them. They are a Chinese tire.

[scbwr]

I put Toyo 154 tires on our MH last summer and they're great so far. Toyo tires get excellent reviews and are hard to beat for the price!

[doxiemom11]

We also have a F53 with Toyo tires that we put on when we replaced the originals. We are very happy with them and would buy them again. The ride is actually better than the originals were which were Goodyear rv tires.

[DFord]

I'm not a fan of Michelin tires either but I am a member of FMCA. I looked into their tire program and visited my local truck tire dealer that also has a Hunter Engineering GSP9700 Road Force EliteHunter Engineering GSP9700 Road Force Elite "vibration control system" (wheel balancer) I first heard of that machine when I bought a new 2001 MH on a F53 chassis and had wheel balance issues. I had to drive 125 miles to a Ford dealer that had access to one and was willing to perform the TSB to alleviate the problem. Since then they have become more numerous and the tire dealer 10 miles from me has one. Back to FMCA's tire programs - they offer Michelin, Hankook and Continental tires in the discount program. The dealer preferred Michelin and didn't care for Hankook. I took the Michelin prices with me and he remarked what a great price the program offered. I wasn't impressed - for my 245/70R19.5 tires the price was around $400 out the door. In the end, I decided to wait. I was looking for two tires but figured I may as well wait and buy all 6 at one time (probably need to take out a home loan to pay for them).

You can use the link to the wheel balancer to find the location of one near you.

The information on FMCA's tire programs is available from this link: https://www.fmca.com/rv-tires-discounts The FMCA price is only visible to FMCA members that login.

I'm a big fan of FMCA and highly recommend membership. The repatriation insurance that's included with membership is worth more than the dues.